Massachusetts Adult Basic Education
Curriculum Framework
For
Health
Massachusetts Department of Education
Adult and Community Learning Services
October, 2001 Draft
Table of Contents
HEALTH CURRICULUM FRAMEWORK DEVELOPMENT TEAM ...........................................................3
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ......................................................................................................................................6
INTRODUCTION: WHY TEACH HEALTH? ....................................................................................................9
HOW TO USE THIS DOCUMENT: TEACHING HEALTH WITH THE FRAMEWORK ....................... 13
GUIDE TO FRAMEWORKS TERMINOLOGY ............................................................................................... 15
CORE CONCEPT .................................................................................................................................................... 16
GUIDING PRINCIPLES ........................................................................................................................................ 17
HABITS OF MIND .................................................................................................................................................. 19
CONTENT STRANDS ............................................................................................................................................ 21
LEARNING STANDARDS, SUGGESTED TOPICS, AND RECOMMENDED RESOURCES .............. 24
SUMMARIZING CHART .......................................................................................................................................... 25
PERCEPTION AND ATTITUDE ................................................................................................................................ 26
BEHAVIOR AND CHANGE ...................................................................................................................................... 27
PREVENTION, EARLY DETECTION AND MAINTENANCE .................................................................................... 28
PROMOTION AND ADVOCACY .............................................................................................................................. 29
SYSTEMS AND INTERDEPENDENCE ...................................................................................................................... 30
RECOMMENDED HEALTH EDUCATION RESOURCES .......................................................................................... 31
CONNECTIONS TO OTHER FRAMEWORKS ................................................................................................ 37
STRATEGIES AND RESOURCES FOR TEACHING AND LEARNING ................................................... 38
LEARNING LEVELS AND ASSESSMENT (UNDER DEVELOPMENT) ................................................... 40
TECHNOLOGY (UNDER DEVELOPMENT) ................................................................................................... 40
SAMPLES OF FRAMEWORKS INTEGRATION AT WORK ....................................................................... 41
KATHY’S UNIT ....................................................................................................................................................... 42
TEACHING AND LEARNING ABOUT DEPRESSION AT OPERATION BOOTSTRAP ................................................ 48
BIBLIOGRAPHY USED IN CREATING THE HEALTH FRAMEWORK .................................................. 56
APPENDIX A: ADDITIONAL RESOURCES ................................................................................................... 59
SUGGESTED READING .......................................................................................................................................... 59
HEALTH AND LITERACY RESOURCE BIBLIOGRAPHIES....................................................................................... 60
WEBSITES OF INTEREST ........................................................................................................................................ 61
APPENDIX B: STRANDS AND STANDARDS FOR ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS,
MATHEMATICS AND NUMERACY, AND ENGLISH FOR SPEAKERS OF OTHER LANGUAGES
(ESOL) ........................................................................................................................................................................ 62
APPENDIX C: SAMPLE TEMPLATE FOR FRAMEWORK INTEGRATION .......................................... 65
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Health Curriculum Framework Development Team
Practitioners
Shannon Carroll is an experienced teacher of ESOL, ABE, and GED. She has taught at
several community-based programs in Massachusetts. She began her teaching career in
Bejing, People’s Republic of China, and later spent four years teaching in Taiwan. Since
her return to the United States, her work has included writing curricula for ESOL,
facilitating health teams, and conducting workshops on developing creativity in the
classroom. She is currently an instructor for Mount Wachusett Community College.
Judith Dickerman-Nelson is the director of the Young Parent Program at the Cambodian
Mutual Assistance Association in Lowell, Massachusetts where she also teaches GED
classes. She has taught poetry and composition at University of Massachusetts at Lowell,
Emerson College, and Middlesex Community College. Now, she divides her time between
Massachusetts where she works in education and Vermont where she lives with her family.
She and her husband run Nelson’s Candies of Townshend, Vermont and in her free time she
writes, throws pottery and dances.
Dot Gulardo began her career in adult education 18 years ago as an ESOL instructor in
Osaka, Japan. Her ongoing interest in health issues informed her many years as an ESOL
instructor at Community Action in Haverhill. She has participated in numerous health
literacy projects, such as facilitating Department of Education (DOE) student health teams,
teaching health careers programs for at-risk teenagers, piloting Project HEAL (a breast and
cervical cancer curriculum), and developing and conducting health workshops for Adult
Basic Education (ABE) practitioners. She also helped draft the Science and Technology and
the Adult ESOL Curriculum Frameworks. She is currently the director of a new workplace
ESOL training program at Hogan Regional Center that prepares non-native speakers for a
career in direct care.
Beverly Hobbs coordinated a Young Parents Program with teen mothers for over ten years
in Southbridge, Massachusetts. Since switching to Adult Basic Education three years ago,
she has worked as an ESOL teacher, counselor, and curriculum developer. She is presently
the Assistant to the ABE Director at Mount Wachusett Community College.
Kathy Moran Mckee has taught in the ABE class at the Worcester Adult Learning Center
(WALC) for more than twenty years. She has experience as a staff and program facilitator, a
member of Young Adults with Learning Disabilities (YALD), and as a science curriculum
developer for Worcester middle and high schools. She is currently one of two faculty
members of the Student Action Health Team at WALC.
Andrea O’Brien is an experienced ESOL teacher and currently holds the position of Staff
Developer at the Lawrence Adult Learning Center, where she focuses on curriculum and
materials development. She has presented workshops for Northeast SABES (System for
Adult Basic Education Support), MATSOL (Massachusetts Association of Teachers of
English to Speakers of Other Languages), MCAE (Massachusetts Coalition for Adult
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Education), and TESOL (Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages). She was
part of the Working Group that developed the ABE ESOL Curriculum Frameworks.
Lynne Paju works for The Literacy Project (TLP) as the Health Education Coordinator.
Lynne coordinates an integrated health education program for TLP's six learning centers.
With a background in experiential education and group and individual counseling, Lynne
also runs several projects that focus on health and behavior change, including a dedicated
tobacco intervention program and a student health leadership team. Creating safe learning
environments is a fundamental principle of her curriculum development and she promotes
further understanding of the links between trauma and learning within ABE programs.
Shameem Selimuddin moved to the United States from Bangladesh 25 years ago. She has
been an ABE/GED/Family Literacy instructor for the William F. Goodling Even Start
Family Literacy program in North Adams, MA since 1993. Shameem believes in
developing curricula for her students that will support them to become productive,
confident, and healthy participants of the community they live in as well as in the world
around them.
Widi Sumaryono is a native of Jogjakarta, Indonesia. He has taught ESOL since 1984,
when he graduated from a teacher training college. He has worked in refugee camps in
Indonesia and Thailand and continues to teach, support, and advocate for refugees at
Lutheran Social Services, where he has worked since 1991, and is currently the program
director. Widi is an avid proponent of health education for adult learners, a social action
theatre member, and a Frameworks “veteran”.
Contractors
Northeast SABES (System for Adult Basic Education Support) is a team of staff and
program developers whose office is located at Northern Essex Community College in
Lawrence, Massachusetts. It serves over seventy-five ABE programs and practitioners in
Northeastern Massachusetts. The ABE Health Framework members of the Northeast
SABES staff include the following:
Marcia Hohn, Ed.D., SABES director, holds a masters in adult learning and a doctorate in
human and organizational systems, and she is a nationally recognized leader in literacy and
health issues. Her expertise in action research with teachers and learners is evident in the
numerous studies she has conducted employing both quantitative and qualitative
methodologies. The current focus of Marcia’s work, within SABES and nationally, is ABE
organizational management and forging health and literacy partnerships.
Jeri Bayer is the curriculum coordinator for Northeast SABES, facilitating the
understanding and use of all of the frameworks in ABE programs. Jeri was the lead
facilitator and writer for the History and Social Sciences Curriculum Framework. Her
teaching experience includes workplace ESOL, basic literacy skills development and GED
preparation. Jeri has developed curricula for employability, technology integration, and
social studies.
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Alisa Povenmire is an experienced group facilitator and associate director for Northeast
SABES. She has taught health with “at-risk” teens, and with ESOL and GED students. She
has developed numerous workshops and training materials for SABES, and loves to mentor
teacher trainers. She has supported the development and promotion of the curriculum
frameworks since the initiative began. Alisa’s leadership in the field of health and literacy
has resulted in health issues becoming an integral piece of ABE curricula throughout
Massachusetts.
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Acknowledgements
For over a decade, dedicated and concerned teachers and administrators in
Massachusetts have convened to discuss the health education needs of their students and
clients, and to strategize the most effective methodology to meet those needs. The ABE
Curriculum Framework for Health is the latest in a continuum of efforts in Massachusetts to
integrate health education in adult basic education services. This Framework attempts to
capture the wisdom gained by adult education practitioners and present it in a way that is
crisp and useful to new and experienced teachers alike.
There are many, many people who have contributed their time, expertise, thoughts,
and curricula to health and literacy efforts. We would like to acknowledge the
Massachusetts Health Team, a fluid body of health and literacy professionals who have met
over the past decade to research, dialogue and promote understanding of health and literacy
issues and education. We extend special appreciation and gratitude to Loren McGrail and
Elizabeth Morrish, facilitators of the Massachusetts Health Team, each of whom pushed the
health and literacy fields to collaborate and advance their work together.
Not enough can be said to commend the numerous ABE programs whose students
and teachers engaged in participatory health education projects that enhanced our
understanding of health education with adults. These student/teacher teams have inspired
hundreds of ABE learners and practitioners through their presentations, curriculum
materials, and writings.
We extend our respect and appreciation to Bob Bickerton, Marie Narvaez, and the
Massachusetts Department of Education for their foresight, faith, and ongoing funding of
the progressive health education efforts undertaken at ABE programs.
The Department’s commitment to integrating health education into the Adult Basic
Education system also manifested in the funding of Health Curriculum Framework focus
groups coordinated by the System for Adult Basic Education Support (SABES) in 1996. We,
therefore, acknowledge the invaluable contributions of the members of these groups:
Lavonne Krishnan, Donna Cornellier, Carrie Mitchell, and Robert______, Eve Anderson,
Joan LaMachia, Elizabeth Morrish, and Elaine Nugent. Hartley Ferguson and Charlotte
Baer crystallized the efforts of the focus groups into the very accessible and compelling
document that is the basis for this draft. It is our hope that this latest draft properly respects
and incorporates all of their groundbreaking work.
Also invaluable to the development of this document has been the experience of the
Y2K History and Social Sciences Curriculum Framework Development Team. Their
research and experimental methods served as a useful model for the Health Framework
revision.
Finally, we wish to extend our sincerest appreciation to the former Health and
Literacy Technical Assistance Team: Julie Crowley, Annemarie Espindola, Meg Murphy,
Elizabeth Morrish, Sherry Russell, Cindy Irvine and Katy Hartnett. This team was
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instrumental in building the willingness and capacity of ABE programs to integrate health
content and form community health collaborations. Their insights into how health
education can be successfully integrated into ABE programs have informed much of what is
in this Framework.
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Health is central to our ability to attend effectively to family,
school, work, and community needs
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Introduction: Why Teach Health?
As a content area, health intersects with the goals, best practices, and special
problems of adult education. Addressing health in the classroom can allow teachers and
students to enrich their learning environments and experiences, as well as students’ lives
outside the classroom. The rationale for integrating health into adult education is
highlighted below.
1. Poor health interferes with the success of adult learners.
Teachers have long been aware that the academic success of students relies heavily
on their physical, emotional, and family health. Adult education teachers in particular have
noted that many adult students often miss school due to personal or family illness, with the
result that they cannot make the academic gains they desire. In fact, many students in ABE
(Adult Basic Education) and ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages) classes have
extremely limited access to comprehensible health care information and affordable health
care services. This is often due to low literacy or insufficient English language skills, and
myriad social and economic circumstances.
2. Low literacy and poor health are interrelated in a number of ways.
Adult educators’ observations are substantiated by numerous medical studies
confirming that adults with less education experience more health problems than adults
with higher education levels. For example, medical researchers have found that as lesseducated adults age, they are more likely to be depressed than adults with more education
(Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 2000). Another study indicates that less-educated
individuals show more signs of physiological wear and tear than those who are more
educated (Annals of Behavior Medicine, 2000). Research also indicates that people with lower
literacy skills are likely to be under more stress, to have less self-confidence, and to feel more
vulnerable than better-educated people.
Another factor in the literacy and health connection is poverty. Poverty, low literacy
and health problems are interrelated in a number of ways. For example, many babies born
into poor families have low birth weight, which increases their risk of developing health and
learning problems. Literacy affects people's access to decent jobs and thus to adequate
incomes. Poverty affects people's ability to access and use both literacy and health services.
Adult educators report that many students are hindered in their learning by problems
directly related to living in poverty, such as inadequate nutrition, substandard housing, lack
of transportation, crime, unsupportive home lives, and affordable child care.
Language and culture also affect access to health services and information. People
with limited literacy skills in English have trouble reading and understanding health
information unless it is clearly presented and linked to their realities (although even people
with higher literacy skills articulate a need for personalized health information and
communication). People with limited literacy tend to have less background health
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knowledge and vocabulary and therefore may not understand written or verbal information.
They may not know about the services available to them, and may feel powerless and
intimidated in relation to health professionals and institutions.
3. Health information and practical skills can be applied directly to adults’ lives and incorporated
into daily decision-making.
Learning skills, such as how to keep a personal health record, access community
health services, and call 911, are not only empowering but also can make critical differences
in everyday life. The power of this direct relevance to real life is evidenced in this true
account:
In an ESOL classroom with most students at the beginner level, the teacher explained
about using the Emergency Number 911. The students asked questions and learned the
importance of keeping their name, address and telephone numbers by the phone.
A few weeks later, Marly breathlessly told the class about her actual need to call 911. She
described exactly what happened to her that week. Her four-year old son choked on a piece of
meat and quickly lost consciousness, falling on the floor.
When Marly saw her son, she remembered 911. The EMTs were at her door within two
minutes, she reported. She was amazed that she only had to give her phone number; the rest
of the information came up on the emergency operator's computer.
"I thank God that I had this information," Marly said.
4. Adult learners say learning about health is important and improves their literacy skills.
In a landmark participatory action research study, Marcia Hohn (1998) documented
adult students’ perceptions of health education. Students recognized that health topics
facilitate and motivate literacy learning. One student reported that when she realized that
what she said was more important than how perfectly she said it, she was “released” from
the fear of speaking “not so perfect” English. Teachers reported an intense engagement in
conversation about health topics that enhanced speaking, listening, reading and writing
activities. The classroom became an "open" space to talk about health, not only for the
students but also for the teachers and other staff.
5. Students find ABE and ESOL programs to be good places to learn about health.
ABE and ESOL programs, students said, provide a supportive environment in which
to develop understanding of health information, and time to relate the information to
everyday life. Students preferred to choose which health areas to explore and perceived
health broadly to include such issues as street safety, housing conditions, the stress of
immigrant life, as well as diet and exercise and prevention/early detection of disease. They
reported enjoying a “learning together” approach with teachers and community educators
that eases reliance on “expert knowledge.”
Dr. Hohn also documented what students perceive to be the problems with health
education among limited literacy individuals and groups. While ABE and ESOL students
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agreed that easy-to-read materials are essential, they said that there is too much reliance on
written materials and that difficult materials are only the tip of the iceberg. Much more
important is the provision of a psychologically safe environment in which to learn about
health – an environment that also helps people connect health education with everyday life.
Adult learners want to know: "What does this health information mean for me as an
individual, for my family, friends, neighbors, coworkers and people in my other social
networks?" The opportunity to consider health information in this context of everyday life
is critical, they said, as is a “safe” opportunity to ask questions.
6. Adult educators are experienced in presenting content to limited literacy groups.
ABE and ESOL students observed that too many community health educators do
not understand how to work with limited literacy groups. Such health educators talk too
fast, make too many assumptions about what people know, and use scientific jargon and
statistics. Adult learners noted that limited literacy groups, especially those from other
countries, cultures and traditions, may not understand concepts of prevention and early
detection, and that they may not know that access to community health services is both a
right and responsibility in the United States. Such groups may also fear discrimination in
accessing community prevention, screening and health services, especially when they do not
have health insurance (which is often the case) and/or may be limited in the English they
speak. They feel afraid of how they will be treated and insecure about their rights and
responsibilities.
7. Health content is a vehicle for student leadership development.
Because health is personal and global, and because it is a common denominator of
life experience, it is the quintessential motivator for learning, communication, and action.
Adult educators report about students who, before studying health, were quiet and reserved
in class. But when given the opportunity to learn and teach about health issues they
identified as important, these same students became outspoken and eloquent, designing and
presenting workshops, skits, brochures, and community meetings. One woman (a Spanishspeaking GED student) exhilarated after teaching her first CPR class (in English!),
announced, "I have never done anything like that in my life!"
In addition, we have learned that we teachers do not have to be health experts to
teach health. Indeed, our students can take on that role, dramatically changing the dynamics
in the classroom. In contrast to preparing a student for a driving test where we teachers are
presumably "expert" and our students "novices," when it comes to health we are all
"novices" and we are all "expert," depending on the topic. For example, a student infected
with HIV can demonstrate expertise and first-hand knowledge that few health care
professionals have. Teaching and learning about health is most effective as an interactive
process in which all perspectives are valued and everyone in the classroom recognizes that
they are learning together.
When adult students and teachers engage with health issues in this equalizing
process, they become serious advocates for themselves, their families and their
communities. Sharing health information has given scores of ABE students and teachers
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the confidence to address personal health situations, to participate in community health
efforts, and to begin the process of taking control of their education and their lives.
8. Literacy and health goals have a better chance for success when pursued together.
Partnerships between people working in the health and adult education fields have
great potential for mutual benefit. From a health standpoint, literacy programs offer ways to
reach people who are often most at risk. They are a safe place where health information can
be shared, discussed, and analyzed. As members of families and communities, literacy
learners can act as a channel for health promotion among low income, immigrant and
minority populations.
From a literacy point of view, health issues provide important content around which
reading, writing, speaking and math skills can be learned and practiced. Because of their
critical importance to adult students, these issues help provide motivation for learning basic
skills. Through learning about health issues, students develop skills and knowledge used in
making everyday health choices for themselves and their families.
While addressing health in the classroom offers tremendous benefit to teachers and
students alike, health as a content area can also present unique problems.
Because health issues can be intensely personal and private, health content may elicit
strong emotional reactions in both teachers and learners. While some students and teachers
might be ready and willing to investigate the difficult issues of family violence, cancer, and
sexually transmitted diseases, others most certainly will not. Cultural differences can also
heighten the volatility of certain health discussions in the classroom. These potential
problems, however, should not deter anyone from addressing health. When choosing or
creating health curriculum, teachers can take guidance from the class itself to accommodate
the emotional and psychological comfort level of themselves and their learners. Focusing on
those health issues that everyone feels willing to address allows for many valuable
educational experiences that can improve the literacy, leadership and life skills of learners.
Sources:
Perrin, Burt (1998). How Does Literacy Affect the Health of Canadians? Minister of Public Works and Government
Services Canada
____( 1997). Health Impacts of Social and Economic Conditions: Implications for Public Policy, Canadian Public
Health Association.
Hohn, Marcia (1998). Empowerment Health Education in Adult Literacy. Washington DC: National Institute for
Literacy.
Websites:
Health Education and Adult Literacy (HEAL) at
http://www.worlded.org/projects/HEAL/HEALHOME.htm
Movement for Canadian Literacy at http://www.literacy.ca/litand/health/overview.htm
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How to Use This Document: Teaching Health with the Framework
This Framework is designed to promote an understanding of the significance and
potential of health education while offering guiding principles, standards, and integration
strategies for teaching and developing curricula.
Since health issues often undermine the persistence and success of adult learners, it is
in our best interest to integrate health education in the classroom. By integrating health, we
are not adding “one more thing” into an already full curriculum, but instead we use health
topics as a vehicle for development of social and academic skills.
We suggest consulting the companions to this document--The Common Chapters,
and the frameworks for English Language Arts (ELA), English for Speakers of Other
Languages (ESOL), Math, History and the Social Sciences, and Science and
Technology/Engineering. Utilizing these Frameworks in concert with the health
Framework will help you to develop curricula that will facilitate interdisciplinary
understanding of health concepts and develop skills in the essential areas of reading, writing,
speaking, listening, and numeracy.
To experience greater ease in using this document we suggest the following:

Become familiar with the contents of each of the key sections of this document (Guiding
Principles, Habits of Mind, Content Strands, and Learning Standards). Think about how
these different components correspond with the brainstorm activity described above.
Does the framework reflect aspects of your practice? Take the time to discuss your
understanding of the different components of the framework with your colleagues.
Discuss whether you agree or not with the different principles, habits and standards.

Use the terminology. Seek clarity from others if you are unsure about a word’s meaning
or use. Vocabulary is important, and we all need to be speaking the same language.

Think about what the word “health” means to you. Ask your students to brainstorm
what “health” means to them. Write down everything you and your students articulate
when thinking about health. Be careful to be open to what comes to mind for both you
and your students. You will probably find a wide range of words, topics, and concepts
that the mention of “health” elicits. Look at the strands and standards in this
Framework (pp. 21-30) and think about how they support the topics you and your
students have identified.

Consider a health activity that you have already done with students that has worked
well, or try out an activity from one of the resources listed within the section on
standards (pp. 26-30). With that sample experience firmly in mind, ask yourself “what
understanding did I want my students to come away with as a result of having done this
activity?” Check the list of strands and standards and use the charts to identify the
connections between your activity and the list (chances are there will be a number).
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
Share your findings with colleagues at staff meetings and ask them to do the same.
Write down what you have done, citing the frameworks connections. A sample template
for documentation is provided in Appendix C (p. 66).
Further steps in curriculum development:

Incorporate student leadership opportunities at every possible juncture. Allowing your
students to guide curriculum development in health will strengthen their commitment
to and ownership of their learning. Here are some sample approaches to encouraging
student leadership in health education:
1. Work with your students to identify a health topic that is compelling to them
and you.
2. Discuss with students how they would like to learn about the topic--Through
the internet? Guest speakers? Researching community resources?
3. Urge your students to share what they have learned with their peers, their
families, and with the community. Work with them to develop sharing
mechanisms such as posters, brochures, and presentations.
4. Encourage your students to reflect on what personal meaning their health
learning holds for them, and how they will apply their new knowledge to their
lives.
5. If your program has a Department of Education-funded Comprehensive Health
Grant and/or a Student Health Team, connect with them!

Look beyond single activities. If time allows, explore multiple topics that could help
your students develop a deep understanding of a particular content strand. Plan lessons
around those topics, always keeping the strands and standards in mind. Remember that
much of what you plan will also address language, literacy, and math skill acquisition
and should be considered within the context of the English Language Arts, ESOL and
Math frameworks as well.

Review the section on “Connections to Other Frameworks,” to see examples of what
some teachers have done to integrate this Framework with others.

Contact the Curriculum Coordinator at your regional SABES office for guidance and
suggestions. S/he is experienced in facilitating an understanding of the frameworks and
the ways in which teachers can use them effectively.
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Guide to Frameworks Terminology
Frame (fram) n. A skeletal structure designed to give shape or support.
The American Heritage Dictionary, Second College Edition
Frame is a term that can be used in numerous contexts to refer to a variety of things,
from buildings to bodies to bowling. The definition quoted above is most appropriate for our
purposes, although any of the others citing a rim, border, or outline would suffice.
A curriculum framework offers a basic structure for how and what we teach in adult
basic education programs. It does not contain lesson plans or scope and sequence charts, but
it does describe the components with which each program and teacher can design a
curriculum that is relevant to the needs of their particular group of learners.
Some of the terms that are used throughout this document and the other frameworks
may be unfamiliar to you, or you may associate them with other meanings than those
intended here. Below is a list of essential vocabulary.
Core Concept: an articulation of the importance of the subject of a given framework to
the lives of adult learners.
Guiding Principle: an underlying tenet or assumption that describes effective learning,
teaching, or assessment in a subject area.
Habit of Mind: a disposition, value, or tendency that supports life-long learning.
Content Strand: a category of knowledge within the study of a given discipline. In this
framework, the content strands are concepts.
Learning Standard: a description of an understanding or skill within a strand that a
learner needs to be able to demonstrate.
Concept: an idea that is timeless, universal, broad and abstract.
Topic: a subject of study that refers to a specific phenomenon, time, or place.
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Core Concept
The importance of health education for the adult learner
In an adult basic education curriculum, the concepts of health can serve as learning
catalysts through which the key skills for communicating, accessing information,
decision-making, personal care, interpersonal relationships, and participating in health
care systems are developed.
Health is a multidimensional field of study that draws upon biology and other
natural sciences, sociology, psychology, religion, and cultural studies. The investigation of
health topics fulfills the four fundamental needs that adult learners have identified as the
reasons that they return to education. These needs are articulated in the January 2000
Equipped for the Future Content Standards (Stein, page 6) as the Four Purposes for Learning:
 Access: to gain access to information and resources so that adults can orient
themselves in the world.
 Voice: to give voice to their ideas and opinions with the confidence that they
will be heard and taken into account.
 Action: to solve problems and make decisions on their own, acting
independently, as parents, citizens, and workers, for the good of their families,
their communities, and their nation.
 Bridge to the Future: To keep on learning in order to keep up with a rapidly
changing world.
Health education is unique in its capacity to enhance one’s sense of self-awareness,
self-authority, and self-management, as well as to one’s ability to make informed and
reasoned decisions on behalf of the family, the workplace and the community. Engaging
with health concepts therefore contributes to one’s evolution as an active, compassionate
participant in a culturally diverse, complex society in an interdependent world.
In the United States, we believe that everyone is entitled to the circumstances and
services that promote good health. This means that adult education providers have a duty to
provide the skills and knowledge necessary to understand health care information and to
negotiate health care systems.
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Guiding Principles
Underlying assumptions about learning, teaching, and assessment in the
ABE Health Frameworks
There are certain principles of teaching that are pertinent no matter what the content
area. In health education, teachers and students have identified seven principles that
promote effective teaching and program practice. We recommend that teachers and
program administrators use these principles to guide curriculum and program design, and
also to evaluate current practice.
In effective health education:
1. Health content serves as a catalyst for literacy learning and is integrated with other
content areas.
When health education goals and literacy goals are addressed simultaneously,
students engage with information critical to making important life decisions and develop
skills that serve their lifelong learning needs.
2. Students and teachers are engaged in investigating, learning about, and advocating
for health issues that students identify as personally meaningful and important.
When students engage with issues they have identified as important to learn about,
they are more likely to carefully consider what the information and learning means for
themselves as individuals, their families, and their communities.
3. Students and teachers recognize the complexity and variety of experiences,
perspectives, and cultural views individuals bring to a health issue.
Each person's relationship to a particular issue is unique. Let us take the issue of
heart disease, for example. In any given classroom, one student may have had a heart
attack, another student may have had a family member who died of heart disease, and still
another may work in a hospital where he sees "heart patients" routinely. Religious or
cultural practices of some class members may prohibit their participation in certain
conversations or health practices. The instructor may have had a personal experience that
makes teaching about heart health particularly painful, or conversely, exhilarating. Each of
these possible associations to a particular health topic must be acknowledged and folded
into the curriculum development decisions of the class.
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4. Students and teachers build awareness of the interrelationships between the individual
and the social, physical, medical, political, or economic environments in which he or
she lives.
There is a tendency to feel that "good health" or "bad health" is something one is
blessed or doomed with, depending on how lucky one is. This perception can contribute to
the feelings of hopelessness and helplessness that persist among some adult learners.
Effective health education must reach beyond the teaching and learning of facts to include
investigation of the interconnections between our habits, surroundings, society, and our
health. This principle guides teachers and learners to develop a more systemic
understanding of health, and a greater sense of community responsibility in health
promotion and care.
5. Programs provide a physically and psychologically safe learning environment.
This principle is of the utmost importance in health education. The intricate and
personal nature of health issues requires that students and staff establish an environment
where openness and tolerance is encouraged and judgmental, teasing, harmful, or other
disrespectful behavior is not tolerated.
6. Programs coordinate access to and collaboration with health care prevention, early
detection, and treatment services.
When adult education centers offer relevant health education and connections to
local health care services, students and teachers are more likely to translate their health
education directly into beneficial health care action. For example, it is more likely that
students will utilize the breast health information they gained in class to obtain
mammograms if their learning center has an established relationship with a health center
that provides mammography services.
Health ABE Curriculum Framework, October 2001 Draft
Massachusetts Department of Education, Adult and Community Learning Services
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Habits of Mind
“Habit is a cable; we weave a thread of it each day, and at last we cannot break it.”
~Horace Mann
hab·it (hab it) n. a. a recurrent, often unconscious pattern of behavior that is acquired
through frequent repetition; b. an established disposition of the mind or character.
Source: The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company
In the Curriculum Frameworks, when we refer to “Habits of Mind,” we mean the
dispositions, attributes, tendencies, or characteristics of a lifelong learner that are modeled
and supported in effective education. Please refer to the ABE Common Chapters for a full
explanation of Habits of Mind and their place in the broad context of adult education.
Some helpful ways to think about Habits of Mind are as:



A pattern of intellectual behaviors that leads to productive actions;
A resource on which to draw when faced with uncertainties, confused by dilemmas,
or experiencing dichotomies; or
A composite of many skills, attitudes, cues, past experiences, and proclivities.
In health education, we have identified five Habits of Mind that are critical to the
teaching and understanding of health content and issues, and that support individuals to
successfully negotiate their own health care, maintenance, and the health system at large. It
is important for both students and teachers to develop these Habits in health teaching and
learning:





Self-awareness
Confidence
Respect
Objectivity
Empathy
On the following page, these Habits are paired with corresponding intellectual
behaviors that both enhance the Habits and illustrate the Habits “in action.” The behaviors
are examples of how each Habit might manifest itself in successful negotiation of social and
health contexts, whether in the classroom or in the real world of family health care,
community clinics, the workplace, hospitals, and insurance coverage.
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Habits of Mind: enhanced
Behaviors that demonstrate the Habits of Mind in
through teaching and learning
about health
action
Self-Awareness
Become aware of your behavior and how it affects
others; consider choices; assess risk and consequences
when making decisions.
Apply past knowledge to new situations: utilize past
choices to inform current decisions.
Confidence
Appreciate the importance and validity of one’s own
health experiences and perceptions.
Accept communication as a mutual responsibility.
Strive to understand others and to be understood.
Respect
Recognize that the concept of health is deeply personal
and each person’s relationship with health is unique
and complex.
Objectivity
Consider the source when evaluating the quality or
authority of information.
Recognize that health is impacted by social, cultural,
political, and economic conditions beyond the
individual.
Empathy
View people with consideration of their personal,
unique and complex relationship to health.
Recognize common humanity through the universality
of health issues.
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Content Strands
Categories of major concepts within Health
The health concerns of any particular class or program vary widely according to the
background, culture, age, and lifestyle of the group. The list of possible health topics of
interest is almost limitless. For this reason, the ABE Framework for Health has been
organized according to key concepts that lend themselves to exploration of any one of a
long list of related health issues and concerns that adult learners have articulated as
important to them. It is our conviction that studying health through a conceptual lens
results in analytical thinking and transferable understanding, rather than the memorization
and surface knowledge of mere facts.
All of the health concepts are interrelated and interdependent, some more closely
associated than others. For this reason, the concepts have been paired or grouped into
single strands of study. These strands are:





Perception and Attitude
Behavior and Change
Prevention, Early Detection, and Maintenance
Promotion and Advocacy
Systems and Interdependence
We encourage teachers to explore the significance of these different concepts with
students so that their meanings become internalized. In the United States, we tend to think
about health in terms of diseases and body parts. It can be a challenge at first to appreciate
the conceptual aspects of health. Teachers and students should work together to explore
their health topics of choice, and to delve into both the concrete features (such as anatomy,
bodily functions, exercise and symptoms) and the more intangible aspects (social pressures,
cultural factors, formation of habits) of health.
Once students and teachers become familiar with the conceptual realms of health,
they will find that a discussion of one concept leads to exploration of others. For example,
examination of the cultural perception of obese people can lead to a discussion of obesity’s
affect on personal attitude, which in turn leads to learning about weight management,
prevention strategies, and the societal behaviors that promote the condition. In this way,
students and teachers will find themselves utilizing the concept strands as lenses through
which to examine, select and develop health curricula with respect to the needs and interests
of any given group of learners.
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Perception and Attitude
Many learners come to adult education with a myriad of misperceptions and
negative attitudes--about themselves, their families, and the world around them. They often
have low self-esteem, poor self-image, and high mistrust of teachers and institutions.
Effective health education addresses the issues of perception and attitude by helping
students to recognize them and analyze the roots. Health education provides the forum for
exploring how the perceptions and attitudes of family members, teachers, health
professionals, government and media impact our personal, educational, work, and
community lives.
Behavior and Change
In adult education, it is not our responsibility to change the way people behave.
Behavior change is often a complex and lengthy process that we in adult education do not
have the time or clinical skill to facilitate. However, we can craft educational opportunities
that invite students to critically evaluate their own behavior, the behavior of others, and the
effects of behavior on health. When we offer relevant health education, we help to lay the
foundation for beneficial behavior change.
Prevention, Early Detection, and Maintenance
It seems to be human nature to take our bodies and our health for granted--until
something goes wrong. The mission of public health professionals is to consistently
reinforce the messages that:



Good health is a condition to be maintained and nurtured;
Health issues, disease, and illness are easier to prevent than to treat; and
Once health problems do arise, they are in general easier to treat successfully if they are
detected early.
While the actions these messages promote are fairly easy to understand and do, the
reality of our everyday lives, behaviors, self-perceptions, and attitudes can interfere with our
best intentions to take care of ourselves and our families. Additionally, students in adult
education are often from cultural backgrounds where prevention and early detection
services are not readily available and certainly not affordable, so that it is common practice
to wait until someone is seriously ill before seeking the services of a doctor or hospital. It is
important in adult education to reinforce the universal need for health maintenance
practices, and the availability of prevention and early detection services, so that students
may recognize, access, and utilize them.
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Promotion and Advocacy
From a literacy viewpoint, health promotion is accomplished in two ways:
1) by developing a deep understanding and internalization of health information and
concepts, and 2) by advancing and reinforcing positive attitudes, behaviors, and practices.
It is generally recognized in learning theory that while we remember only 5% of what
we hear, we retain 90% of what we teach, so that teaching is, in essence, the ultimate
learning tool. When students learn to teach and promote health, they take ownership of the
information and begin to recognize responsibility for action.
Teaching/promotion is a form of advocacy, and in today's world, people need to
know how to advocate for themselves. Even the most knowledgeable and articulate
individuals find themselves tongue-tied and nervous when they have to deal with a hurried
doctor, an impatient receptionist, a complicated insurance claim, or a busy pharmacy. The
automated and impersonal nature of health care institutions and the limited relationships
with health care professionals can leave many of us feeling powerless. In order to increase
the comfort level of students in advocating for their own health, the health of their families,
their communities, and their environment, we need to incorporate student teaching
opportunities (i.e., through student health teams and peer education) in the adult education
classroom, and to foster communication with health care institutions through adult
education programs.
Systems and Interdependence
A system is a perceived “whole” whose elements interact to continually affect each
other and operate toward a common purpose. These elements may be a set of ideas,
principles, objects, actions, or social practices which, taken together, explain the function of
an organism, a group or an institution.
It is daunting to analyze and negotiate our health care system--doctors’ offices,
laboratories, hospitals, health maintenance organizations, Medicare, insurance,
prescriptions and pharmacies can all be extremely confusing. By gaining an understanding
of a system’s components, rules, operations, and interactions, however, a person becomes a
more effective navigator between and from within systems. With regard to health, the
systems we are primarily concerned with are bodily, health care, social, and political. By
investigating these systems and the interactions of the systems, learners become aware of the
consequences of certain actions, can utilize their knowledge to make informed decisions,
and may advocate for themselves, their families, their workplaces, and their communities.
For further guidance on this concept, we recommend that teachers and students
explore the Systems strands of both the ABE Frameworks for History and Social and Science
and Science and Technology/Engineering, and the Environments and Interdependence strand
in the History and Social Sciences Framework.
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Learning Standards,
Suggested Topics, and Recommended Resources
In this framework, each content strand contains three standards that describe of
understanding related to the strand. The learning standards express what learners should
understand as a result of study within the content strand. Following the standards are
examples of basic "truths," or generalizations, that might be deduced through investigation
of topics related to the strand. The value of these "truths" lies both in their depth and in
their transferability across topics, time, and cultures.
The learning standards are guides for developing health curricula. They are not
absolute or restrictive. They are the distillation of the research and teaching practice of a
highly conscientious and experienced group of ABE practitioners. The criteria for selection
of these standards include a fundamental connection to the given health concepts and a high
degree of relevance for adult education. These standards and insights are indicative of the
kinds of understanding that serve adults well in their roles as family members, workers,
community members, and lifelong learners. Teachers and learners are encouraged to
develop further standards and significant understandings through active engagement with
and reflection on any topic. An exploration of health for broad understanding and
immediate application to our daily lives is an empowering experience that translates
purposeful learning into meaningful living, which is the primary goal of adult education.
The topics suggested at the end of each set of standards represent only a sampling of
what might be explored within a particular strand. They are listed because teachers have
found them to be effective in engaging learner interest and developing the kind of farreaching understanding that can be applied to other topics. Teachers should feel free to
utilize any topic that inspires teaching and learning.
Finally, this section offers a list of resources that have proven helpful in teaching
health concepts in the ABE classroom. Like the list of standards and topics, it is far from
definitive, but it does include high quality materials, many of which were developed by
ABE practitioners or learners in Massachusetts. Most of these materials can be utilized to
explore any of the health strands.
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Summarizing Chart
Strands and Standards for the Health Framework
Strands
Perception and Attitude
Behavior and Change
Prevention, Early Detection,
and Maintenance
Standards (Learners will demonstrate an
understanding of…)
 The perceptions and attitudes they have of
themselves and others
 The role of perceptions and attitudes in decisionmaking
 The relationship between perceptions and
attitudes and health



The origins and development of behavior
The influence of behavior on health
The difficulty and complexity of behavior
change

The signs, symptoms and causes of health
conditions
Prevention, maintenance and early detection
strategies
The roles and responsibilities of the individual
and health care systems in protecting and
maintaining health



Promotion and Advocacy



Systems and Interdependence


The rights of the individual to health care
information and services
How to access health care information and
services
The power of promotion and advocacy to
enhance the health of the individual, family,
and community
Human body systems (physical, mental, social,
and spiritual), their interdependence, and their
roles in health protection
Our health care system and how its
components interact
Social, cultural, political, economic, and
environmental systems, and how they impact
health
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Perception and Attitude
Standards
Learners will develop an understanding of…
1.
2.
3.
The perceptions and attitudes they have of themselves and others
The role of perceptions and attitudes in decision-making
The relationship between perceptions and attitudes and health
In doing so they will recognize that…

Family, culture, media and society influence personal perceptions and attitudes, and
vice versa.

Perceptions and attitudes are an important aspect of health behavior.

Attitudes and perceptions can influence decision-making positively or negatively.

Perceptions and attitudes influence health and sense of well-being, and vice versa.

Perceptions and attitudes affect relationships and opportunities.
Suggested Topics
Conflict Resolution
Mental Health
Mind-Body Connection
Nutrition
Parenting
Personal Hygiene
Racism
Relationships
Self-concept
Self-esteem
Sexuality
Violence
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Behavior and Change
Standards
Learners will develop an understanding of…
1.
2.
3.
The origins and development of behavior
The influence of behavior on health
The difficulty and complexity of behavior change
In doing so they will recognize that…

It is important to recognize and analyze one's own behavior.

Family, culture, and society affect one’s behavior.

Perceptions and attitudes directly affect behavior.

Certain behaviors entail certain risks, positive and negative.

Individual behavior affects the behavior of others and vice versa.

Health behaviors develop early in life and can be difficult to change.

Behavior change is often a complex and lengthy process.
Suggested Topics
Anger Management
Exercise
Family Planning/Birth Control
Interpersonal Violence
Negotiation and Resolution of Conflict
Nutrition
Stress
Safer Sex
Sexually Transmitted Diseases
Violence
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Prevention, Early Detection and Maintenance
Standards
Learners will develop an understanding of…
1.
2.
3.
The signs, symptoms, and causes of health conditions
Prevention, maintenance and early detection strategies
The roles and responsibilities of the individual and health care systems in protecting
and maintaining health
In doing so they will recognize that…

Health maintenance can prevent or curtail certain illnesses, diseases, and premature
death.

Prevention and early detection strategies help to maintain safety and well-being.

People have a personal role and responsibility in their own health maintenance, and
in the early detection and treatment of health problems.

Prevention, early detection, and maintenance strategies change throughout life.

Prevention of illness and maintenance of health require an understanding of the
human body and the influence of environmental factors on the individual.
Suggested Topics
Air pollution
Asthma
Cancer Screenings
Check-ups
Common Cold
Dental Health
Diabetes
Dialoguing with Health Care Providers
Exercise
First Aid
Handwashing
Health Insurance
Health Records-documenting and
maintenance
Heart Health
Human Body
Immunization
Mammogram
Nutrition
Personal Hygiene
Sexually Transmitted Diseases
Vaccination
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Promotion and Advocacy
Standards
Learners will develop an understanding of…
1. The rights of the individual to health care information and services
2. How to access health care information and services
3. The power of promotion and advocacy to enhance the health of the individual,
family, and community
In doing so they will recognize that…

Health information and services are available to everyone.

People have a right to health care information, treatment, and services.

Local community resources exist to support individual, family, and community
health.

Promotion of healthy behaviors and health information contributes to the health of
self, family, and community.

It is necessary to advocate for oneself, one’s family, and one’s community in order to
gain proper health information and services.
Suggested Topics
Air and Water Quality
Confidentiality
Doctor’s Visit
Environmental Health
Free Clinics
Health Care System
Health Insurance
Managed Care
Media Influence on Health Awareness
Peer and Family Health Education
Police Services
Safety
Web Health Resources
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Systems and Interdependence
Standards
Learners will develop an understanding of…
1. Human body systems (physical, mental, social, and spiritual), their interdependence,
and their roles in health protection.
2. Our health care system and how its components interact.
3. Social, cultural, political, economic, and environmental systems, and how they
impact health.
In doing so they will recognize that…






The human body is not a machine, but a complex, sensitive, responsive and
interactive entity.
Care for the self requires understanding how the human body works.
At any given time, one's health is a reflection of the state of one's body, emotions,
relationships, and peace of mind.
The ability of an individual to respond to illness is dependent on many factors
outside of the human body.
Understanding systems is critical to being able to change or influence them.
Everyone--individuals, families, health care providers, employers, communities, and
legislators--shares responsibility for health care and maintenance.
Suggested Topics
Advertising
Anatomy
Alternative Health (yoga, acupuncture)
Bodily Systems
Communication with Health Care Providers
Depression
Environmental factors in diseases
Exercise
Free Care, Health Care for All
Income, Literacy Level and Health Status
Nutrition
Health Insurance
Municipal Services (police, hospital, school)
Patients’ Bill of Rights
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Recommended Health Education Resources
There is a wealth of material and information from which to create excellent health
curricula. We highly recommend that you consult the World Wide Web, The
Massachusetts Prevention Centers, the Health and Literacy Bibliographies listed on page 61,
and your local SABES offices.
Below is a selection of resources that can be accessed through your local SABES
office. This list is by no means complete, but is offered instead to spark your interest. Many
of these resources have been created by teams of students and teachers and are excellent
examples of participatory curriculum development (see also the section in this Framework
entitled, “Connections to Other Frameworks”). The topics represented are those in which
ABE/ESOL students and teachers have expressed interest and personal relevance.
ADVOCACY
The Change Agent; Adult Education for Social Justice: News, Issues, and Ideas. “Focus on
Health and Literacy.” February 1997, Issue 4. Boston, MA: New England Literacy
Resource Center/ World Education. Articles and classroom activities related to literacy
and health issues. Also available online at:
http://www.nelrc.org/changeagent/pdf/change2.pdf
Empowerment Health Education in Adult Literacy: A Guide for Public Health and
Adult Literacy Practitioners, Policymakers and Funders, 1998.
This report explores one avenue for health education and promotion with lowliteracy audiences: embedding health education directly in adult literacy
programs. Based in a philosophy of empowerment, a two-year participatory
action research project was conducted in partnership with a student action health
team. The project's design, methodology, results and conclusions are documented
in this report.
Getting Good Health Care. Syracuse, NY: New Readers Press, 1994.
Literacy, Health, and the Law: an Exploration of the Law and the Plight of Marginal
Readers Within the Health System: Advocating for Patients and Providers.
[Philadelphia, PA]: Health Promotion Council of Southeastern Pennsylvania,
Inc., [1996].
Taking Action; Making Change: A Handbook on Health Care Reform. Health Care for All,
30 Winter Street, Suite 1007, Boston, MA 02108.
ANATOMY
The Brain Book: Your Brain and Your Health. American Association for the
Advancement of Science, 1995.
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ASTHMA
The Asthma Handbook, 26 pp. English and Spanish. American Lung Association, 1992.
CANCER
Breast Cancer and the Environment: A Curriculum Guide. Michel Sedor and Martha
Merson. Boston, MA: World Education, 1997.
Breast Cancer as I Lived It. A reproducible true story developed by adult education
student Mary Scanlon.
Cancer As a Women's Issue: Scratching the Surface. Chicago, IL: Third Side Press,
1991.
Confronting Cancer, Constructing Change: New Perspectives on Women and Cancer.
Chicago, IL: Third Side Press, 1993.
My Life Story with Cancer. Mary Walker.
http://www.worlded.org/us/health/docs/Mary/introduction.html
My Mother’s Battle with Breast Cancer. A reproducible true story and health care guide
developed by Laura Guay, a student at the Adult Education Center, Mount Wachusett
Community College, Gardner, MA, 1995.
COMMUNITY HEALTH
Community Organizing and Community Building for Health. M. Minkler, ed. Rutgers
Press, 1999.
Homeless Education Kit. A resource collection designed to help ABE students, teachers,
and administrators learn about homelessness and to develop effective education
programs for homeless students.
DRUG EDUCATION
Brain and Behavior: Mental Disorders and Substance Abuse. American Association
for the Advancement of Science, 1995.
How Drugs Affect the Brain: A Toolkit for Literacy Programs. American
Association for the Advancement of Science. This curriculum provides easy-toread information about how the brain works and the biological basis for drug
addiction. This curriculum is based on the belief--backed by current research-that people who have a cognitive understanding of how drugs affect the mind and
body can use this knowledge to help avoid drug abuse, and confront or deal with
addiction, and share the information with others who may need it.
ELDERLY
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Health Care for the Elderly: Moral Dilemmas, Mortal Choices. Dubuque, IA:
Kendall/Hunt Pub. Co., 1988.
EXERCISE
Exercise Curriculum. (Volume 4) Wellness Resources and Materials--Scale Health
Action Team: A Year in Review. Somerville Center for Adult Learning
Experiences (SCALE). Somerville, MA: 1995.
How to Feel Good: Learning to Relax and Exercise, An Invitation. Adult Learning Program,
Jamaica Plain Community Centers, Jamaica Plain, MA.
http://www2.wgbh.org/MBCWEIS/LTC/ALRI/feelgood.html
FAMILY HEALTH
What to Do When Your Child Gets Sick. Gloria Mayer, RN and Ann Kuklierus, RN.
Whittier, CA: Institute for Healthcare Advancement, 1999. An easy to read, easy to use
guide for parents and caregivers.
GENETICS
Your Genes, Your Choices: Exploring the Issues Raised by Genetic Research. Catherine
Baker, 1999. American Association for the Advancement of Science.
HEALTH COMMUNICATION
Beyond the Brochure: Alternative Approaches to Effective Health Communication; A
Guidebook. Denver, CO: AMC Cancer Research Center, 1994.
HEALTH LESSON COMPILATIONS--MULTIPLE TOPICS
Health Education Teaching Ideas: Elementary, Volume II. Jane Hakala, W.P. Buckner,
Jr., and Karen King. Reston, VA: American Alliance for Health, Physical Education,
Recreation and Dance, 1995. (ISBN 0-88314-604-5)
Health Education Teaching Ideas: Secondary, Revised Edition. Richard Loya and Loren B.
Bensely, Jr. Reston, VA: American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation
and Dance, 1992. (ISBN 0-88314-529-4)
What the Health! A Literacy and Health Resource for Youth. Canadian Public
Health Association; National Literacy and Health Program, 2000. Developed by
health providers, youth workers and literacy practitioners working with youth in
health centers, drop-in centers and literacy programs. Produced in a loose-leaf,
easily reproduced format.
HEART HEALTH
Caring about Community: A Workbook on Heart Disease and Stroke. Allston, MA:
Jackson Mann Community Center, 1996.
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NUTRITION
Bruce’s Nutrition Lesson: Literacy Assistance Center Web-based Lesson Plan Gallery.
http://www.lacnyc.org/resources/institute/bruce.htm
NIBBLE: Nutrition Information Bulletin Board and Learning Experience for Adult Basic
Education. University of Massachusetts, 1999. This curriculum offers nutrition activities
for use with Math, Science, and Language Arts curricula. It includes computer- and
internet-based components as well.
Nutrition Curriculum. (Volume 3) Wellness Resources and Materials--Scale Health
Action Team: A Year in Review. Somerville Center for Adult Learning
Experiences (SCALE). Somerville, MA: 1995.
A Taste of English: Nutrition Workbook for Adult ESL Students. Association of
Farmworker Opportunity Programs, 1994.
PEER HEALTH EDUCATION
So You Want to Start Your Own Peer Health Education Program: A How-To Guide.
Hampden County Correctional Center.
SAFETY
English Spoken Here, Health and Safety. New York: Cambridge Book Company,
1982.
Exercise Book for English Spoken Here, Health and Safety. New York: Cambridge
Book Company, 1982.
STRESS
Diapers, Dishes and Deep Breathing: A Stress Management Workshop for Mothers.
Curriculum Outline. The Tobacco Free Greater County Coalition’s Stress
Management Task Force, 1996.
How to Adjust to Life in America: Maintaining Your Health, Dealing with Stress.
June, 1995. This curriculum was designed to address mental health needs of
students who are immigrants and refugees from Southern China and Vietnam. It
can be used as a 12-workshop series or in six separate sessions based upon broad
topic areas: Access to Health Care; Parents and Children; Husbands and Wives;
The Elderly; Losses and Gains; and Building a Supportive Community. Each
session is divided into two parts to allow follow-up and depth. A variety of
resources and worksheets are included in each session.
Managing Stress in Our Personal and Work Lives. October, 1994.
Materials and tools for program directors and others focusing on evaluating your
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overall level of stress, identifying the key stressors in both your personal and work
lives, and devising strategies for managing stress more effectively.
Stress Curriculum. (Volume 2) Wellness Resources and Materials--Scale Health
Action Team: A Year in Review. Somerville, MA: Somerville Center for Adult
Learning Experiences (SCALE), 1995.
TOBACCO
Adriana’s Story: A Story about Smoking. A play/story written by adult students of the
basic ESOL class at the Adult Learning Program of the Jamaica Plain Community
Center, Jamaica Plain, MA, 1994.
Juan’s First and Last Cigarette. Haverhill, MA: Wellpower Group, Community
Action, Inc.
Tobacco, Biology and Politics. Waco, TX: Health Edco, 1992.
VIOLENCE
Question Violence, Love is the Answer. Young Parent Program, Cambodian Mutual
Assistance Association, Lowell, MA.
http://www.worlded.org/us/health/docs/healthpatrol/
WELLNESS
Decisions for Health. Austin, TX: Steck-Vaughn, 1993.
Getting Healthy and Staying Healthy. Paramus, NJ: Globe Fearon, 1994.
Health is Life: Educate Yourself. Jamaica Plain, MA: Adult Learning Program at
Jamaica Plain Community Center.
Healthy for Life. Pacific Grove: Brooks/Cole, 1995.
In Good Health. Chicago, IL: Contemporary Books, 1991.
An Invitation to Health: The Power of Prevention. Redwood City, CA:
Benjamin/Cummings Pub. Co., 1994.
Life Is an Attitude! Staying Positive When the World Seems Against You. Los Altos,
CA: Crisp Publications, 1992.
Staying Well. Syracuse, NY: New Readers Press, 1994.
Take Care of Yourself: a Health Care Workbook for Beginning ESL Students. Englewood
Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall Regents, 1994.
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Wellness: Choices for Health and Fitness. Redwood City, CA:
Benjamin/Cummings Pub. Co., 1995.
Your Body in Health and Sickness. Glenview, IL: Scott, Foresman, Lifelong Learning
Division, 1982.
WOMEN’S HEALTH
The Black Women's Health Book: Speaking for Ourselves. Seattle, WA: Seal, 1994.
Four Modules: An Integrated Approach to Learning in the Adult Learning Program at
Project Hope. 1995.
SABES RSC: Boston, Central. File drawer: ABE/Curriculum and materials.
Four curriculum modules developed for an ABE class of women at Project Hope:
"The Brain;" "My Body, My Self;" "The Planets and the Stars;" and "A Regional
Geography of the United States." Each curriculum aims to "develop frameworks
within which the women can bring together what they know from their own past
formal and informal educational experiences with the basics of a subject so that
they develop the vocabulary and concepts needed to successfully complete the
GED battery of tests."
Key Information and Basic Guide to Healthy Breast Care. Laura Guay. Mt. Wachusett
Community College. 1995. A reproducible pamphlet for students.
Take Charge of Your Health! Lesson 1: Mammograms, Lesson 2: Pap Tests, and Teacher’s
Guide. Low Literacy Illustrated Guides. Lexington, KY: Kentucky Cancer Program.
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Connections to Other Frameworks
Just as the Health concept strands are interdependent, so too is the Health
Framework interdependent with the content and skills in other ABE Curriculum
Frameworks. Due to the universality of health issues in people’s lives, health provides a
fertile context for making literacy, life skills, history, social sciences, science and technology
content come alive. Health content and conceptual understanding enriches any curriculum
and goal attainment, whether students and teachers are working on English, parenting,
citizenship, employability, or GED skills. For this reason, this framework provides
illustrative examples of health instruction in action with ESOL, GED and other adult basic
education instruction, utilizing the Frameworks as a guide.
The following diagram represents a model for holistic student-centered framework
integration that incorporates an understanding of a unique body of learners, effective
teaching practices, metacognition (thinking about thinking), and learning tools in the
selection and exploration of health topics through pertinent frameworks strands.
Learner’s Lives, Goals, and Literacy Needs
ESOL, ELA, Math
Reading
Writing
Oral Communication
Language Structure and Mechanics
Intercultural Knowledge and Skills
Navigating Systems
Critical Thinking
Number Sense
Patterns, Functions and Algebra
Geometry and Measurement
Statistics and Probability
HEALTH
Topics
Perception and Attitude
Behavior and Change
Prevention, Early Detection
and Maintenance
Promotion and Advocacy
Systems and
Interdependence
Strategies and Resources for Learning
(metacognition, teaching practices, technology)
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Strategies and Resources for Teaching and Learning
Programs have piloted health education work in different ways. Any type of health
topic and project that interests students can be connected with literacy activities at the
appropriate level for the particular class.
Below are examples of highly effective approaches, methods and techniques but
many more can be found in the materials housed at the SABES Regional Offices. Each of
these methods and techniques provides ample opportunity for skill development in reading,
writing, speaking, listening, and math.
You will notice that each of these “tools” involves participation and leadership by
students. Engaging students through these methods ensures that:




Health topics are “on target” for student needs,
The health work is embedded in everyday life, concerns and questions,
The education honors different cultural beliefs about health, and
The teaching and learning is approached through creative and involving methods.
Letting Students Choose the Health Topic(s)
An important part of effective health education is student input into the choice of the
health topic(s). At Operation Bootstrap, the Student Health Team runs a health fair for the
students each fall. At the health fair, a list of possible health topics are posted and each
student (and staff member) is given one “dot” to vote for the topic of choice. Other
programs have students vote from a list of possible health topics by class. The more input
students have about the health topics, the more likely they are to actively engage with the
teaching and learning in that health area.
Student Health Teams
Student Health Teams are one of the primary ways that students have provided
leadership in the health work. Some health teams do direct teaching in the classrooms, after
they have learned about the health topic themselves and decided how to teach about it.
Some health teams coordinate learning activities with local health educators and/or work
with the teaching staff at the program to develop health teaching and learning programs.
Some teams do research about a health area and develop a report for students and staff.
Some develop brochures, informational packets, organize health fairs at the program,
organize a “guest speaker” series or conduct health knowledge surveys. Often, the health
teams do some combination of the activities. Student team members are often paid for their
work and can be considered adjunct staff members.
Participatory Curriculum Development
Student choice of the health topic and embedding everyday life issues, questions and
concerns in the education program is the start of participatory curriculum development.
Some programs have elected to go further into the process by including students in the
development and/or modification of curriculum. Students (or student health teams) have
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been involved with Curriculum Frameworks projects, working on integration of health. For
example, when Operation Bootstrap studied “Navigating Systems” as part of their ESOL
Framework project, the Student Health Team contributed by doing a map of health facilities
(with annotations of services) in the city of Lynn to help students “navigate” the health care
system. They also have worked with teachers to develop curricula on bodily systems.
Doing Research, Surveys and other Classroom Projects
Classrooms can undertake research or survey projects about health to share their
findings with other students in a manner complimentary to the interest and abilities of the
students. For example, a class might be interested in learning more about asthma. An
ESOL or ABE class might start with defining basic vocabulary and developing a simple
health history form to take to the emergency room in case of a sudden asthma attack. They
might also want to develop their knowledge and understanding about asthma, current
theory about its causes, and treatments. Students might accomplish this through reading,
consultation with a health practitioner, and searching the Internet. They might then decide
to develop a brochure for other students. A GED class might be more interested in
understanding how to read health statistics, graphs, and charts since such skills are directly
related to the GED test. Or they might want to practice writing through developing an
essay about a particular health area or a particular health-related experience.
Surveys about health topics or related topics are also an excellent way to gain
knowledge and skills. Students can survey other students, families, neighbors or friends
about health knowledge or behaviors. Topics such as eating and food-buying habits,
smoking, and exercise habits work very well here. Developing survey questions, carrying
out the survey, tallying results and producing the results in a graphic form encompasses
reading, writing, listening, speaking, math, public speaking, and technology skill
development.
Any project-based learning approach is appropriate for health. For example,
students might do a photography project to document unsafe housing, unsanitary conditions
or health hazards; create a map of local health care facilities and their services; or interview
community police about violence in the community and how it is being addressed. Classes
can also teach each other about what they have learned, either directly or through the
materials they may have developed.
Technology
Technology tools should be utilized whenever possible in the study of health. Most
ABE programs in Massachusetts have access to a wide range of learning tools, including
those mentioned below, and a technology coordinator on staff to help learners effectively
use them. Additional support can be accessed through the technology coordinators at each
of the five regional SABES centers.
Computers

Basic office applications such as word processing and spreadsheets facilitate writing
about health, designing tables, charts, and graphs to organize information, and
creating informational brochures and curriculum materials.
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

Educational Software is available through the Internet and your local SABES offices.
It seems that the amount of software available has grown substantially in the past few
years. Many programs are geared for K-12 situations but can be adapted for use in
adult education.
The Internet is a limitless resource for information and communication regarding
health issues. Responsible use of the Internet requires that students critically evaluate
the validity of the information they find. Please see the Resources section of this
document for valuable health education websites.
TV and VCR

There is a wealth of health education videos available through the Massachusetts
Prevention Centers, the Internet, and the regional SABES offices. Many teachers
often make effective use of mainstream movies to introduce and explore the depths
of different health issues.
Tape Recorder and Video Camera


Many effective health projects have involved students utilizing tape recorders to
capture oral histories, interviews, and curriculum planning and evaluation sessions.
Many programs have opted to create videos with students as part of their curricula.
The intense process of working with students to brainstorm, film (learning how to
use equipment!), edit, and utilize the resulting video provides a unique layer of
teaching and learning to any curriculum. SABES libraries hosts samples of such
video documentation of student health dramas and projects.
Please see the Resources Section in Appendix A of this document for further information on
specific books, curricula, software, and websites.
Learning Levels and Assessment (under development)
Technology (under development)
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Samples of Frameworks Integration at Work
The next few pages propose a process for attaining framework integration as reflected
by the diagram on page 37, by incorporating the strategies and resources for learning
outlined beginning on page 38. This process is described first through the curriculum units
of Kathy McKee, a Massachusetts teacher (ABE), and second, through the Student Health
Team at Operation Bootstrap, Lynn, Massachusetts (ESOL).
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Kathy’s Unit
Preparation:
Kathy’s class is at an adult learning center that is connected to the K-12 system. Kathy’s
Unit is an example of how the study of a topic of interest to students can be integrative and
supportive of multiple literacy objectives.

The Learners
Level: ABE, English reading levels 0-5
Learners: 8 Adults, 4 female, 4 male, ages 33-61. All Caucasian, 6 native to
Worcester, 2 from West Virginia.

Common Goals
Kathy’s class articulates a desire to learn about “health all around them,” while
practicing their literacy skills.

Common Life Experiences
All except one have had difficulties in school as a child: one has been dealing with
mental illness since high school age. Most have profound issues with reading and/or
math as well as having a lot of gaps in many areas of learning. All live in low income
areas of the city, some in public housing. 54 grew up in and round Worcester; the rest
have lived here for some time.

Complexity
Through observation of her class on a number of occasions, Kathy senses that the
members of her class have grown up with little understanding of health in general, and
little trust in or knowledge of the health system. Kathy wants them to be able to utilize
health information to make good decisions and to employ appropriate, effective ways
to prevent disease and illness.

The Topic
At Kathy’s prompting, the class began an investigation of health “all around them.”
She encouraged them to read magazines, watch the news, watch the Health Channel,
and to check the newspaper for any kind of health issues. She asked students to bring
in articles, stories, and television reports as they discovered information. One small
article contained a graph that showed historical trends in the number of AIDS cases.
As Kathy helped students to understand how to interpret the graph, the class began to
question, “What exactly is AIDS?” Through the discussion, Kathy realizes that while
the class has heard of AIDS, no one in the class really could describe what the disease
was, its origin or its prevention. Kathy and her class decide this is a topic worthy of
more deliberate study.

The Habits of Mind
Kathy wants to confront the stereotypes and criticism that students have articulated
about people with AIDS. She also wants students to think about their own impulsive
decisions and the consequences in their lives. She decides to introduce stories, poetry
and real life situations to help students develop the following Habits of Mind:
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Self-Awareness: As Kathy introduces the stories of people who have contracted
HIV, she encourages students to become aware of their behavior and to consider choices they
have made in personal situations. She discusses the importance of assessing risk and
consequences when making decisions.
Empathy: Kathy chooses anecdotes that will help students see how different life
circumstances lead people to certain life paths. She hopes that her students will be able
to view people with consideration of their personal, unique and complex relationship to health.
She makes the point about how health issues, and particularly viruses, do not
discriminate. Disease can strike anyone at any time. She wants her students to
recognize common humanity through the universality of health issues.
First Steps:
Before Kathy begins any instruction on HIV and AIDS, she wants to find out what her
students already know about the topic. She also plans to make the unit as integrative as
possible, including the biology of the virus, geographic origins of the virus, and population
statistics. So she does some preliminary assessment of student’s knowledge to inform her
planning.
Initial Assessment
Learners brainstorm what they know about
AIDS.
Informed Planning
Compile documents on the AIDS virus.
Adapt to appropriate reading level for the
class. Use videos, poetry, art, books and
articles dealing with AIDS.
Learners will discuss and write (if able) what
they know about AIDS prevention.
Research and get recent information on
AIDS prevention.
Learners will try to find the continent of
Africa on a map or globe.
Have globes, maps, stories, or short
video to expose learners to the continent
of Africa and its people.
Have lessons on the description of a virus
and how it can affect the human body.
Learners will write or discuss their
understanding of viruses in general.
Utilizing the Frameworks:
Kathy consults four of the Curriculum Frameworks to strengthen and direct her
integrative planning: The ABE Frameworks on Health, English Language Arts,
Mathematics, and History and the Social Sciences. The Charts on the following pages
document how her various classroom activities are supported by the strands and standards
of the different Curriculum Frameworks.
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AIDS
Health Curriculum Framework
Strands and Standards
Perception and Attitude
The perceptions and attitudes they have of
themselves and others:
 Perceptions and attitudes can influence
health positively or negatively.
 Family culture, media, and society
influence personal health perception and
attitudes and vice versa.
 Perceptions and attitudes affect
relationships and opportunities.
Behavior and Change
The influence of behavior on health:
 Certain behaviors entail risks, positive and
negative.
Prevention, Early Detection, and
Maintenance
The signs, symptoms and causes of health
conditions:



Prevention of illness and maintenance of
health require an understanding of the
human body and the influence of
environmental factors on the individual.
Prevention and early detection strategies
help to maintain safety and well-being.
Prevention and maintenance strategies
change throughout life.
Promotion and Advocacy
The power of promotion and advocacy to
enhance the health of the individual, family and
community:
 Promotion of healthy behaviors and health
information contributes to the health of
self, family, and community.
Supportive Activity
Students discuss their impressions of people
with AIDS, who gets AIDS and why.
Students read and discuss various articles,
poetry, and videos about different aspects of
living with AIDS. They discuss how media
and family target certain populations as prime
AIDS victims thus giving the illusion “It’s not
going to happen to me.” They discuss how
prejudice arises from pinpointing/blaming
groups in our society.
Students research and discuss the behaviors that
put one at risk for getting AIDS, no matter
what one’s lifestyle may be.
Students research virus attributes, special
characteristics of HIV, signs and symptoms of
AIDS.
Students review HIV/AIDS prevention
strategies.
Students discuss how HIV and AIDS
prevention may not concern some students, but
that information that does not seem useful to us
now may be very useful in the future.
Students design an AIDS prevention checklist
to share with others.
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Kathy works a little geography and math into her health unit in order to expand the
interdisciplinary understanding of the topic of AIDS.
AIDS
History and Social Sciences Framework
Strands and Standards
Supportive Activity
Environments and Interdependence
Learners’ place in relationship to the rest of
the world:
 The interaction between societies and
environments result in change for
both.
 Geographical features can determine
an area’s economic health, political
stability, and historical significance.
Students learn about Africa through maps,
globes, and videos.
Students learn how the AIDS virus made its
way from Africa to the US through different
modes of transportation.
AIDS
Math and Numeracy Framework
Strands and Standards
Statistics and Probability
 Read and interpret data
representations
Supportive Activity
Students learn about graphs and charts and
review those which represent the numbers
and locations of AIDS cases in the world.
Patterns, Functions and Algebra
 Articulate and represent number and
data relationships, using words,
tables, graphs, rules and equations
Number Sense
 Represent and use numbers in a
variety of equivalent forms in
contextual situations
Learners read aloud, write, and interpret the
meaning of the number of AIDS cases in
different parts of the world.
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The standards of the English Language Arts Framework are invaluable in guiding the
development of clear, open and sensitive communication that is essential to effective
teaching and learning about health.
AIDS
English Language Arts Framework
Strands and Standards
Reading
 Recognize visual-cue words
 Develop vocabulary
 Use increased decoding skills to learn more
complex new words
Oral Communication
 Speak using a basic command of English
 Speak so others can understand
 Use new vocabulary
 Participate effectively in class discussions
Critical Thinking
Recognize a speaker’s point of view
Reading
 Interpret charts and graphs
Critical Thinking
 Describe when/how medium affects
message
Critical Thinking
 Distinguish between fact and opinion
 Use appropriate tools for gathering
information
 Recognize situations when there is not a
“right” answer
Oral Communication
 Speak so that others can understand
 Participate effectively in class discussions
 Recognize the role of tone and body
language and use appropriately
 Address intellectual, moral and emotional
attitudes appropriately
Writing
 Learn and use strategies for organization
 Express thoughts in writing
Oral Communication
 Speak so that others can understand
 Communicate complex ideas clearly
 Restate ideas to clarify meaning
Supportive Activity
Students read and discuss various articles,
poetry, and videos about different aspects of
living with AIDS. Kathy highlights important
vocabulary, concepts and expressions. She also
emphasizes sensitivity and respect for the topic
and fellow students’ ideas.
Students learn about graphs and charts and
review those which represent the numbers and
locations of AIDS cases in the world. They
discuss how the different graphic representations
affect their perceptions of AIDS.
Students research and discuss the behaviors that
put one at risk for getting AIDS, no matter what
one’s lifestyle may be.
Students research virus attributes, special
characteristics of HIV, signs and symptoms of
AIDS.
Students review HIV/AIDS prevention
strategies.
Students design an AIDS prevention checklist to
share with others.
Students share HIV/AIDS information and
prevention checklist with other classes.
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Assessment:
Kathy evaluates progress in her students’ health knowledge, English and math skills, and
geographic understanding through the following activities:

Students write a paragraph or two on “The Life of the AIDS Virus,” describing what it
is, how it can be contracted and what it does to the body. (Because the reading/writing
level of the students is 0-5, writing may not be possible. In these cases, students may
dictate or use a tape recorder.)

Kathy compares “pre” and “post” discussions of the AIDS virus and notes where
progress was made or more information is needed.

Students communicate in any way they choose (story, poem, picture) how they feel
about AIDS.

Kathy devises a fictional story of a person living a risky lifestyle, and asks learners to tell
how they would counsel that person. Students can choose to role-play instead of write.

Students work in groups to develop an informational paper on AIDS virus that serves as
a resource for Student Health Team education workshops.

Kathy uses graphs as references for questions to assess graph reading and interpretation
skills. (She uses simple graphs for low-level readers and ones with more print for more
advanced readers.)

Kathy asks students to point out Africa on a map or globe and to describe its significance
in the AIDS epidemic.
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Teaching and Learning about Depression at Operation Bootstrap
A Cooperative Venture of a Student Health Team, Adult Education Teachers,
And the Curriculum Frameworks
Introduction
Adult Education Programs in Massachusetts are encouraged to carry out health
education through the vehicle of student leadership. Often, the students become peer
leaders through participating in a Student Health Team. In the unit described here, teachers
and students utilize the Curriculum Frameworks and work together to enhance their
leadership skills, literacy and curriculum development, and health knowledge at the same
time.
In this particular program, the Student Health Team is made up of six women who
currently are or have been students at the program. They come from a variety of linguistic
and cultural backgrounds. The Team members work cooperatively with a facilitator and
program teachers to provide education about health topics which students identify as
important. The Team works with the facilitator to learn about, develop and provide
education about the chosen health topic, and works with teachers to develop activities to
support and enhance both literacy skills and health knowledge. The team and the teachers
consult the Curriculum Frameworks help to guide the work and integrate it to the overall
program curricula.
Multi-level Teaching and Learning
When a Student Health Team works cooperatively with teachers to learn and teach
about health, the resulting curriculum is student-centered, multi-faceted, and multi-leveled.
The Student Team learns about the chosen health topic through initial research, but engages
in more complex learning through designing interactive classroom presentations, working
with teachers, teaching and discussing health with classroom students, and hearing the
perspectives of a diverse body of adult students. Teachers learn about the health topic
through team presentations in their classrooms and working collaboratively with the SHT to
connect the health area to literacy development activities (vocabulary building, reading,
writing, speaking and listening activities). Classroom students also learn through the team
presentations, listening to each other, and engaging in readings, discussions and writing
about the health topic--and they have the benefit of observing peer leaders in action.
Common goals
Student Health Team members join the Team in order to improve their English,
advocacy, and leadership skills. All have a strong interest in teaching and health. Students
who participate in ESOL classes want to learn English, to become familiar with American
culture and systems, and to receive help in adjusting to life in America.
The Topic
In order to select an appropriate topic to study and teach, the Student Health Team
visited all the ESOL classes and performed a series of short skits to introduce four possible
health topics (nutrition, smoking, stress or depression). The Health Team worked hard to
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ensure that students understood the choices, checking frequently for understanding. By the
end of the presentations, the ESOL students in each classroom voted to learn about
depression.
Unique Circumstances
ESOL Students often experience depression in making the transition to life in the
United States. They articulate a myriad of causes including past trauma, loss of culture and
language, being overwhelmed by the many necessary cultural and social adjustments,
feeling powerless, and difficult life circumstances. Most often, the depression is a result of
combined factors.
Complexity
A layer of complexity surrounds depression. The concept of “mental illness” in
general and depression in particular is subject to a variety of deeply embedded cultural
beliefs and societal perspectives. Some cultures do not acknowledge mental health issues,
nor do they pursue drug or therapy interventions. Others consider depressed people to be
lazy or unmotivated. Frequently, ESOL students have little familiarity with community
health resources for screening and/or treatment.
Habits of Mind
The Student Health Team develops and demonstrates the following Habits of Mind
as they carry out their unit:
Confidence: In order to teach about depression, the Health Team must be confident
that they will be able to convey the necessary information. They will need to check for
understanding among the classroom members and listen to questions and input. They
must strive to understand the ESOL students and to be understood by them. The ESOL
students in turn develop confidence through taking risks with their expression of
questions and comments in English.
Respect: The Health Team realizes that the subject of depression might be difficult for
students to hear and talk about. Therefore, they will need to respect the perspectives of
the ESOL students. They must recognize that each person’s relationship to the topic of
depression will be personal, unique and complex. The ESOL students also will learn to
respect experiences and viewpoints that might differ from their own.
Objectivity: It is a difficult task to reserve judgment, but in health education it is
essential. Recognizing that people and their health perspectives are impacted by the social,
cultural, political, and economic factors in their lives helps the team to more fully
appreciate the views and questions of the ESOL students.
First Steps: The Student Team Learns about Depression
The Student Health Team researched depression through a number of avenues in
order to develop their presentations. The Team decided that it was important to ascertain
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the validity and the relevance of the information they found before they disseminated the
information to students. Only when numerous resources confirmed the same details about
depression was the information considered true. Also, in order to emphasize that health
information and services are available to everyone, they made a conscious attempt to
explicitly name their resources and strategies for learning about depression on a poster
displayed at the program. The Team accessed the following sources for learning about
depression:







Internet (determining validity was especially important here)
Videos from Prevention Centers
Brochures from the National Mental Health Association
Brochures from the Lynn Community Health Center
First-Hand Account: A woman who had been moderately to severely depressed
throughout her life shared her experiences and perceptions with the team.
Interviews with a doctor and a psychologist
“Depression Stories” developed by a Health Literacy Center
Then the Team contemplated which information was relevant to the ESOL students’
needs and circumstances. They decided that students needed to know certain facts and that
the team needed to convey certain critical messages:
DEPRESSION
Facts
 Depression is defined at three levels – mild, moderate
or severe.

It happens to a lot of people


There are many routes to
depression

You are not alone

Depression can be treated


There are many routes to depression. Sometimes it is
triggered by life circumstances; sometimes it has no
apparent cause.
Depression can be treated through anti-depressant
drugs, therapy and/or support groups. Exercise and
diet are also found to be important.
Critical Messages
Depression is caused by, or causes, chemical
imbalances in the brain. Many doctors believe it is
important to intervene aggressively with drugs to
break the cycle.
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Creating the Teaching Program--Connecting to the Curriculum Frameworks
The ESOL level of the particular class determined the levels of discussion and
writing. In Level 1, the team emphasized understanding of the basic information through
dramas and simple words. In Levels 2 and 3, group discussions and writing were possible.
Before the Student Team conducted their presentation in a class, the teacher did
some initial preparation and assessment with the class in order to inform her curriculum
planning and to help the Student Team make their presentation most effectively.
Initial Assessment
Informed Planning
Learners brainstorm what comes to mind
when they hear the word “depression.”
The teacher takes note of perceptions,
comfort level, and language abilities of
learners.
Learners read a story about a man who is
depressed.
The teacher checks for challenge words,
pronunciation, and general comprehension.
Learners discuss why they think the
story is important and what the initial
reading of the story teaches them.
The teacher listens for themes and
interests that are articulated by the
students. She is careful to note the
reactions of the class to the subject
matter and the characters in the story.
She wants incorporate these
observations into her lesson planning
for follow up to the Student Health
Team presentation.
Utilizing the Frameworks:
In order to maximize the range, intensity, and outcome of the learning experience,
the Student Health Team and the classroom teachers use the Curriculum Frameworks to
expand and organize their ideas and approaches to exploring depression. They want their
students to think deeply and critically, so they consult the Health Framework to inform their
exploration of the broad concepts embedded their study of depression. They also consult the
ESOL Curriculum Framework to help address the English Language Skills needs of the
students.
The following tables document the particular strands and standards that were addressed in
this unit of study.
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Depression
Health Curriculum Framework
Strands and Standards
Supportive Activity
Perception and Attitude
 The relationship between perceptions
and attitudes and health:
Family, culture, media, and society
influence personal perceptions and
attitudes.
Student Health Team leads small group
discussions about causes of depression
(pathways), experiences with depression
through family and friends, and how their
countries of origin perceive depression.
Prevention, Early Detection, and
Maintenance
 The signs, symptoms, and causes of
health conditions:
Prevention of illness and maintenance
of health require an understanding of
the human body and the influence of
the environment on the individual.
Students learn about depression and its
prevention and treatment strategies through
three dramas enacted by the Health Team.
The dramas depicted the different signs,
pathways, and degrees of depression and
also included information on use of antidepressant drugs, therapy and support
groups, as well as the role of diet and
exercise.

Prevention, maintenance, and early
detection strategies:
People have a personal role and
responsibility in their own health
maintenance and in the early detection
and treatment of health problems.
Promotion and Advocacy:
 How to access health care information
and services:
Health information and services are
available to everyone.
Local Community resources exist to
support individual, family, and
community health.

The power of promotion and advocacy
to enhance the health of the individual,
community, and family
The Student Health Team outlines the basic
information and local health care resources
for depression and also provides a brochure
with this information.
The Student Health Team creates an
informational poster of its research resources
to reinforce the availability of information
and services.
The Student Team disseminates health
information and checks for understanding
with the students.
Promotion of health behaviors and
health information contributes to the
health of self, family, and community.
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This type of interactive teaching and learning sets the stage for intensive literacy
development and progress toward many of the ESOL standards:
Depression
ESOL Curriculum Framework
Strands and Standards
Language Structure and Mechanics:
 Students use basic literacy skills
 Students understand and use
conventional English pronunciation,
intonation, stress, and standards of
writing
 Students develop their vocabulary
Oral and Written Communication:
 Students express themselves orally for
social, functional and self-expressive
purposes.
 Students understand a variety of
English speakers in diverse settings.
 Students are willing to take risks in
using English in real-life situations right
now, whatever their level.
 Students employ a repertoire of
strategies for getting their ideas across
orally.
 Students identify what they do and
don’t understand from a conversation,
news report, written material, etc.
Supportive Activity
Students review the “depression” vocabulary
words supplied by the Health Team to the
Classroom teacher. The teacher reinforces
the vocabulary with oral and written
exercises.
Health Team performs Depression Drama.
Students observe Health Team drama, and
ask questions. Health Team answers
questions.
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Oral and Written Communication:
 Same standards as above
 Students become aware of
communication as a process of
negotiating meaning between listener
and speaker, for which both parties
have a shared responsibility
Intercultural Knowledge and Skills:
 Students explore culturally determined
patterns of behavior.
 Students explore the differences and
similarities in the values and beliefs in
their own culture and in US cultures.
Language Structure and Mechanics:
 Students develop their vocabulary
Health Team members and students discuss
causes of depression (pathways), experiences
with depression through family and friends,
and how their countries of origin perceive
depression.
Health Team creates Depression “Word
Web” with students.
Oral and Written Communication:
 Students express themselves in writing
for social, functional, and selfexpressive purposes.
 Students get meaning from a wide
variety of texts.
 Students identify what they do and
don’t understand from a
conversation, news report, written
material, etc.
Health Team creates brochure (prior to
classroom presentation)
Oral and Written Communication:
 Students express themselves in orally
for social, functional, and selfexpressive purposes.
 Students get meaning from a wide
variety of texts.
 Students identify what they do and
don’t understand from a conversation,
news report, written material, etc.
Health Team reviews a brochure outlining
the basic information and local health care
resources for depression. Students ask
questions.
Assessment:
Both the classroom teacher and the Health Team take responsibility for assessing the
students’ understanding of the health information and progress toward their English literacy
goals.
The teacher monitors the students’ speaking and writing samples before, during, and
after the presentation. The Student Health Team evaluates both its own work and the
engagement of the students through:
Health ABE Curriculum Framework, October 2001 Draft
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




Student response to the dramas (Did they pay attention and ask questions?)
Small group discussions with students (Did students use the appropriate vocabulary?
Were they able to identify cultural ideas and practices? Did students listen to each
other effectively?)
Questions (Were students willing and able to ask appropriate questions for clarity of
information, or to explore the subject matter more deeply?)
Team Reflection (What went well? What could have been better? Did they present the
information clearly enough?)
Feedback from the teacher and students (What did they think? Do they have
improvements to suggest?)
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Bibliography Used in Creating the Health Framework
The following sources informed the philosophy, structure, and content of this
framework:
AMC Cancer Research Center and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (1994).
Beyond the Brochure: Alternative Approaches to Effective Health Communication, A Guidebook.
Denver, CO: Author.
Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development. (2000). “Preparing Teachers to
Teach Health.” Curriculum Update, Spring 2000. Alexandria, VA: Author. Also available at
http://www.ascd.org/readingroom/cupdate/2000/3spring00.html.
Checkley, Kathy. (2000). “Health Education: Emphasizing Skills and Prevention to Form a
More Health-Literate People.” Curriculum Update, Spring 2000. Alexandria, VA: Association
for Supervision and Curriculum Development. Also available at
http://www.ascd.org/readingroom/cupdate/2000/1spring00.html.
Council of Chief State School Officers. (1998). Assessing Health Literacy: Assessment
Framework. Santa Cruz, CA: ToucanEd Publications.
Council of Chief State School Officers. (1999). Assessing Health Literacy: A Guide to Portfolios,
Second Edition. Santa Cruz, CA: ToucanEd Publications.
Costa, Arthur L., and Kallick, Bena. (2000). Discovering and Exploring Habits of Mind.
Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.
Erickson, H. Lynn. (1998). Concept-Based Curriculum and Instruction: Teaching Beyond the Facts.
Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press, Inc.
_____. (1995). Stirring the Head, Heart, and Soul. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press, Inc.
Harris, Douglas E., Carr, Judy F., et al. (1996). How to Use Standards in the Classroom.
Alexandria: VA. Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.
LaMachia, Joan, and Morrish, Elizabeth. (1996). Ideas in Action: Participatory Health and
Literacy Education with Adults; Discussion Guide for Adult Basic Education and Literacy Instructors,
Health Educators and Others. Cambridge, MA: Massachusetts Corporation for Educational
Telecommunications.
Marx, Eva, and Northrop, Daphne. (2000). “Partnerships to Keep Students Healthy.”
Educational Leadership, Volume 57, Number 6. Alexandria: VA. Association for Supervision
and Curriculum Development.
Rudd, Rima E., Zacharia, Catherine, and Daube, Katharine. (1998). Integrating Health and
Literacy: Adult Educators’ Experiences, NCSALL Report #5. Cambridge, MA: National Center
for the Study of Adult Learning and Literacy.
Health ABE Curriculum Framework, October 2001 Draft
Massachusetts Department of Education, Adult and Community Learning Services
56
Samuelson, Michael. (1998). “Stages of Change: From Theory to Practice.” The Art of
Health Promotion: Practical Information to Make Programs More Effective, Volume 2, Number 5.
American Journal of Health Promotion, Inc. Also available at:
http://www.healthpromotionjournal.com/publications/index.htm
Scherer, Marge (2000). “Perspectives: Prescriptions for Health.” Educational Leadership,
Volume 57, Number 6. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum
Development. Also available at
http://www.ascd.org/readingroom/edlead/0003/scherer.html.
Stein, Sondra. (2000). Equipped for the Future Content Standards: What Adults Need to Know and
Be Able to Do in the 21st Century. Washington: National Institute for Literacy.
Sticht, Thomas G. (1997). “The Theory Behind Content-Based Instruction.” Focus on Basics,
Volume 1, Issue D. Boston: World Education/NCSALL. Also available at:
http://www.hugse1.harvard.edu/~ncsall/Sticht.htm.
Sullivan, Karen T. (2000). “Promoting Health Behavior Change.” ERIC Digest, Volume 3,
Number 6. Washington, DC: ERIC Clearinghouse on Teaching and Teacher Education.
Also available at: http://www.ed.gov/databases/ERIC_Digests/ed429053.html.
Summerfield, Liane M. (1995). “National Standards for School Health Education.” Eric
Digest Number 94-5. Washington, DC: ERIC Clearinghouse on Teaching and Teacher
Education. Also available at:
http://www.ed.gov/databases/ERIC_Digests/ed387483.html
Tomilson, Janis. (1999). “A Changing Panorama.” ASCD Infobrief on Health and Education.
Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.
Education Standards
Alaska Department of Education and Early Development. (2000). “Skills for a Healthy
Life.” Alaska Standards: Content and Performance Standards for Alaska Students. Juneau, AK:
Author. Also available at: http://www.educ.state.ak.us/ContentStandards/Lifeskills.html.
American Association for Health Education/AAHPERD. (1995). National Health
Education Standards: Achieving Health Literacy. Reston, VA: Author.
American Cancer Society. (1995). National Health Education Standards: Achieving Health
Literacy. Atlanta, GA: Author.
Arkansas Department of Education. (1996). Arkansas Health Education Curriculum Framework
Little Rock, AR: Author. Also available at: http://arkedu.state.ar.us/health.htm.
Massachusetts Department of Education. (1999). Massachusetts Comprehensive Health
Curriculum Framework (Grades K-12). Malden, MA: Author.
Health ABE Curriculum Framework, October 2001 Draft
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Massachusetts Department of Education. (2000). Massachusetts ABE Curriculum Framework
Common Chapters (draft). Malden, MA: Author.
_____. (2000). ABE Curriculum Framework for History and the Social Sciences (draft). Malden,
MA: Author.
_____. (2000). ABE Curriculum Framework for English Language Arts (draft). Malden, MA:
Author.
_____. (1999). Curriculum Framework for Adult ESOL. Malden, MA: Author.
Rhode Island Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. (1996). The Rhode
Island Health Education Framework. Providence, RI: Author.
Also available at: http://www.ridoe.net/standards/frameworks/default.htm.
Vermont Department of Education. (2000). “Personal Development Standards.” Vermont’s
Framework of Standards and Learning Opportunities. Montpelier, VT: Author.
Also available at: http://www.state.vt.us/educ/pdf/framewk.pdf.
Health ABE Curriculum Framework, October 2001 Draft
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Appendix A: Additional Resources
Suggested Reading
Association for the Advancement of Health Education. (1994). Cultural Awareness and
Sensitivity: Guidelines for Health Educators. Reston, VA: Author. ISBN # 0-88314-560-X.
Daniels, Norman, Bruce Kennedy and Ichiro Kawachi. (2000). Is Inequality Bad for Our
Health? Boston, MA: Beacon Press. ISBN # 0-8070-0447-2.
Giorgianni, Salvatore J. (1998). The Pfizer Journal: Responding to the Challenge of Health
Literacy. (Spring 1998, Volume Two, Number One). New York, NY: Impact
Communications, Inc. (Phone: (212) 490-2300). Also available at:
http://www.thepfizerjournal.com/TPJ04.pdf
Gorin, Sherri Sheinfeld and Joan Arnold. (1998). Health Promotion Handbook. St. Louis,
MO: Mosby, Inc. (ISBN # 0-8151-3611-0).
Norton, Mary and Pat Campbell. (1998) Learning for Our Health: A Resource for Participatory
Literacy and Health Education. Edmonton, Canada: The Learning Centre Literacy
Association.
Field Notes: Health and Literacy, Volume 10, Number 4 (Spring 2001). Also available at:
http://www.sabes.org/fn104.htm
Horsman, Jenny. Level 2 Drawing the Line Kit. Saskatchewan Literacy Network.
A kit to provide literacy workers with the information they need about violence and
learning, and drawing the line between tutoring and counseling. Also available at:
http://www.nald.ca/Province/Sask/SLN/Resource/newordrs/drawline.htm
Health ABE Curriculum Framework, October 2001 Draft
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Health and Literacy Resource Bibliographies
A number of useful compilations of Health and Literacy Resources (including books,
articles, curricula, and websites) have been published and can be obtained in paper form at
no cost or from the World Wide Web. The titles and ordering information are listed below.
ABE Comprehensive Health Bibliography. Selection of Materials from Massachusetts
Department of Education-Funded Projects 1994-1999. Organized under 17 topics, this list
includes a description of the material and identifies the organization that generated it.
Compiled at World Education, 44 Farnsworth Street, Boston, MA 02210. Phone: (617)
482-9485. Also available at: http://www.worlded.org/publications.htm (8 pp. Multiple
copies).
Cultural Awareness and Sensitivity: Resources for Health Educators. (1994). Published by the
Association for the Advancement of Health Education, 1900 Association Drive, Reston,
Virginia, 22091. Phone: (703) 476-3437. (ISBN # 0-88314-561-8).
Culture, Health and Literacy: A Guide to Health Education Materials for Adults with Limited English
Literacy Skills, by Julie McKinney and Sabrina Kurtz-Rossi. (2000). Available through the
Health and Literacy Initiative, World Education, 44 Farnsworth Street, Boston, MA, 02210.
Phone: (617) 482-9485. Also available at: http://www.worlded.org/publications.htm
Disease Prevention and Health Promotion Literacy and Health in the United States. (March 1991).
Published by the Centers for Disease Control. Selected annotations, with title and subject
indices. 49 pages.
Health and Literacy Compendium: An Annotated Bibliography of Print and Web-based Health
Materials for Use with Limited Literacy Adults. Cindy Irvine. (1999). Health and Literacy
Initiative, World Education, 44 Farnsworth Street, Boston, MA, 02210. Phone: (617) 4829485. Also available at: http://www.worlded.org/publications.htm
Health Communication and Literacy: An annotated bibliography. (1995). The Centre for
Literacy. An interesting compilation of sources relating to communicating health
information, including low-literate and elderly. Also cites web pages and additional articles
of interest. 30 pages.
Multilingual Health Education Resource Guide. (1995). Illinois Dept of Public Health
Immigration and Refugee Services Program. A listing of a range of materials on Infectious
Diseases, Dental care, Maternal and Child care available in Cambodian, Hmong,
Vietnamese, Bosnian, Russian, Haitian/Creole, Arabic, and Somali. With order forms. 75
pages.
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Websites of Interest
http://www.prenataled.com/healthlit/hlt2k/script/index.asp Health Literacy Toolbox.
This website is part of a larger project called Health Literacy Month. It provides tools to
raise people's awareness about the importance of health literacy. All the articles on this site
are written by health literacy advocates. Some are clinicians, adult educators, consultants,
researchers, and administrators. Each contributor brings a special insight to health literacy.
http://www.state.ma.us/dph/mpc/ The Massachusetts Prevention Center Resource
Library Central Catalog contains records for 11 health education libraries belonging to the
Massachusetts Prevention Center System and the Concord-Assabet Family and Adolescent
Services Inc. Their function is to make current prevention and public health resources and
information available to all in Massachusetts. Resources are culturally competent,
multilingual and available in a variety of formats including books, videocassettes,
audiocassettes, curricula, and kits. The Resource Libraries are funded by the Massachusetts
Department of Public Health and the Massachusetts Department of Education. Contact
the Prevention Center Resource Library near you to borrow resources or to learn more.
www.sabes.org SABES (System for Adult Basic Education Support) has five regional
support centers around Massachusetts. For links to many national literacy websites, as well
as connections to additional resources and libraries.
http://www.sabes.org/health/index.htm This website is designed to serve as a resource
for adult educators who are interested in making connections between health and literacy.
The site contains information on making links between the fields of health and adult basic
education/English for speakers of other languages (ABE/ESOL) and provides hands-on
resources to help strengthen those links through learner-centered work.
http://novel.nifl.gov/lincs/ LINCS is the literacy community's gateway to the world of
adult education and literacy resources on the Internet. The goal of LINCS is to bring adult
literacy-related resources and expertise to a single point of access for users worldwide.
http://www.pbs.org/teachersource/ The PBS Teacher Source has a treasure trove of
lessons and activities adaptable for any classroom.
http://www.alri.org/ Adult Literacy Resource Institute (A.L.R.I.): A program and staff
development center for adult literacy/basic education and English for speakers of other
languages programs in the Greater Boston area, and a wonderful resource. It is part of the
Graduate College of Education at the University of Massachusetts Boston. Sponsored by
the Massachusetts Department of Education and the Mayor's Office of Jobs and
Community Services in Boston, it is one of five regional support centers of the
Massachusetts System for Adult Basic Education Support, SABES.
http://www.nelrc.org/changeagent/ New England Literacy Resource Center. In
the form of a low-cost newspaper, The Change Agent Newspaper provides news,
issues, ideas, and other teaching resources that inspire and enable adult educators
and learners to make civic participation and social justice concerns part of their
teaching and learning.
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Appendix B: Strands and Standards for English Language Arts,
Mathematics and Numeracy, and English for Speakers of Other Languages
(ESOL)
MATHEMATICS AND NUMERACY STRANDS AND STANDARDS
Strands
Number Sense
Standards (Learners will develop an understanding of how to…)
 Represent and use numbers in a variety of equivalent
forms in contextual situations
 Understand meanings of operations and how they
relate to one another
 Compute fluently and make reasonable estimates

Patterns, Functions and
Algebra



Statistics and Probability






Geometry and Measurement






Explore, identify, analyze and extend patterns in
mathematical and adult contextual situations
Articulate and represent number and data relationships
using words, tables, graphs, rules and equations
Recognize and use algebraic symbols to model
mathematical and contextual situations
Analyze change in various contexts
Collect, organize and represent data
Read and interpret data representations
Describe data using numerical descriptions, statistics
and trend terminology
Make and evaluate arguments and statements by
applying knowledge of data analysis, bias factors,
graph distortions and context
Know and apply basic probability concepts
Use and apply geometric properties and relationships
to describe the physical world
Identify and analyze the characteristics of geometric
figures
Relate geometric ideas to number and measurement
ideas, including the concepts of perimeter, area,
volume, angle measure, and capacity
Use transformations and symmetry to analyze
mathematical situations
Specify locations and describe spatial relationships
using coordinate geometry and other representational
systems
Understand measurable attributes of objects and the
units, systems, and processes of measurement
Apply appropriate techniques, tools, and formulas to
determine measurements
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English Language Arts: Strands and Standards
LEVEL
1: 0-.9
READING
Recognize visual-cue words
Recognize letters
WRITING
Write letters and numbers
legibly and consistently
Copy examples
ORAL
COMMUNICATION
Speak using a basic command
of English
Speak so that others can
understand
Recognize letter/sound
correspondence
Develop vocabulary and
recognize new words
Write words without visual
prompts or examples
Develop and use new
vocabulary
Learn and use strategies for
organization
2: 1-1.9
Continue
work from
previous
level and
add…
Recognize and sound out simple
letter combinations
Use the sounds associated with
each letter to learn new words
Recognize phonetic-cue words
Recognize controlled words
Write words without visual
prompts or examples
Respond in writing to written
and oral questions
Express thoughts in writing
Use invented spellings
Listen with basic
comprehension
Follow simple oral directions
3: 2-3.9
Recognize controlled words
Continue
work from
previous
levels and
add…
Express thoughts in complete
sentences
Recognize and sound out more
complicated letter combinations
Respond to questions in
complete sentences
Recognize the role of tone and
body language and use
appropriately
Follow common conversational
patterns
Use increased decoding skills to
learn more complex new words
Write responses to short text
passages
Acquire and use more
organizational strategies
Respond appropriately to
others’ questions and statements
4: 4-4.9
Build comprehension strategies
Recognize and use the rules for
grammar and mechanics
Write at greater length in
response to a topic or question
Begin to recognize errors
independently
Participate effectively in class
discussions
Continue
work from
previous
levels and
add…
Read strategically
Recognize words automatically
CRITICAL
THINKING
Use computers as learning
and research tools
Use new vocabulary with
appropriate pronunciation
Recognize a speaker’s
point of view
Recognize the difference
between formal and
informal systems
Use appropriate tools to
express ideas and opinions
Distinguish between fact
and opinion
Distinguish between fact
and fiction
Use appropriate tools for
gathering information
Recognize situations when
there is not a “right”
answer
5: 5-5.9
Use advanced decoding skills to
learn a variety of new words
Recognize more errors
independently
Revise work with assistance
Ask for clarification of oral
comments and directions
Follow complex oral directions
Give directions orally
Summarize events orally
6: 6-7.4
Interpret charts and graphs
Revise work to include more
details and information
Write at greater length in
response to a topic or question
Communicate complex ideas
clearly
Restate ideas to clarify meaning
Describe when/how
medium affects message
Recognize and identify a variety
of genres and styles
Recognize and use appropriate
formats and genres
Select writing topics
independently
Write for a specific, identified
audience
Participate effectively in
structured types of conversation
(interviews, etc.)
Separate response to
message from response to
speaker/medium
Recognize and use appropriate
tone and style
Use figurative language
Evaluate own written work
Address intellectual, moral and
emotional topics appropriately
Continue
work from
previous
levels and
add…
Continue as
above and
add…
7: 7.58.9
Continue as
above…
8: 9-10.9
Continue as
above…
9: 11-12
Continue as
above…
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English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL): Strands and Standards
ORAL and WRITTEN
COMMUNICATION
Express themselves orally in
English for social, functional
and self-expressive purposes.
Express themselves in
written English for social,
functional and selfexpressive purposes.
LANGUAGE STRUCTURE
and MECHANICS
INTERCULTURAL
KNOWLEDGE and
SKILLS
Learners will become increasingly able to . . .
Use basic English literacy
Recognize and understand
skills.
the significance of cultural
images and symbols- U.S.
cultures and their own.
Understand and use
Examine everyday
conventional English
behaviors in U.S. cultures
pronunciation and intonation,
and contrast these with
stress
their own.
Understand a variety of
English speakers in diverse
settings.
Get meaning from a wide
variety of written texts.
Understand and use standard
conventions of English writing.
Be aware of communication
as a process of negotiating
meaning between listener
and speaker, for which both
parties have a shared
responsibility.
Be willing to take risks in
using English in real-life
situations right now,
whatever their level.
Develop their vocabulary.
Explore the differences and
similarities in the values
and beliefs in their own
culture and in U.S.
cultures.
To choose the most
appropriate vocabulary and
grammatical forms to express
shades of meaning in speech
and writing.
Identify what they do
understand
Use native language literacy
skills and awareness (NLL) to
understand and use language
structure.
Recognize cultural
stereotypes –favorable and
discriminatory – and
examine how they impact
their own and others’
behavior.
Examine their own cultural
adjustment process and the
personal balance that must
be struck between
acculturation and
preserving their own
cultures.
Identify what they don’t
understand from a
conversation, a news report,
written material, etc.
Employ a repertoire of
strategies for getting their
ideas across orally.
Employ a repertoire of
strategies for getting their
ideas across in writing
Monitor their own speech and
writing for accuracy.
Understand and use standard
English grammar.
Explore culturally
determined patterns of
behavior.
Understand and analyze
diversity in U.S. cultures.
Health ABE Curriculum Framework, October 2001 Draft
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NAVIGATING
SYSTEMS
DEVELOPING
STRATEGIES and
RESOURCES FOR
LEARNING
Describe their problems
and needs.
Develop strategies to set
and achieve personal
goals.
Demonstrate
knowledge about
particular systems
connected to the
specific needs they have
identified.
Develop skills to act in
these systems to meet
their needs.
Develop skills to assess
whether these systems
have responded to their
needs, determine
revised steps, and to
challenge these systems
if necessary.
Develop memory
strategies.
Develop study skills for
formal education.
Develop skills in making
use of independent
language learning
opportunities inside and
outside of classroom.
Recognize their learning
strengths and
weaknesses and develop
effective personal
language learning
strategies.
Develop affective
strategies to manage
feelings about language
learning.
Develop social strategies
for language learning.
64
Appendix C: Sample Template for Framework Integration
Teacher/Class
Date(s)
Frameworks (Knowledge and Skills)
Knowledge
(Strands and Standards)
Skills
(Strands and Standards)
Integrative Activities
Evidence of Learning
(Knowledge)
Health ABE Curriculum Framework, October 2001 Draft
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Evidence of Learning
(Skills)
65